1. Field
Embodiments generally relate to authenticating a subject as a user and, more particularly, to randomly generating visual stories specific to the user and for which the subject must select the corresponding images from among a plurality of randomly selected decoy images, select the correct region of a single image, or select the images matching a criterion from among a set. The type of authentication, and the number of decoy images can be varied according to the level of security required in a given application.
2. Related Art
Traditionally, text-based passwords using alphanumeric characters and symbols have been used for authentication in computer systems. However, text-based passwords are problematic because users typically choose them to be short and easily remembered. Such passwords can be easily guessed or subject to brute-force password-guessing attacks. Long and complicated passwords, while providing more security, are difficult for users to remember. As such, many attempts have been made to replace text-based passwords with alternative authentication technologies. However, none of these previous attempts has combined the necessary security and ease of use to supplant text-based passwords.